This invention relates generally to printing devices and, more particularly, to a method and assembly for docking and retrieving a filament holding device from a printing device so that a printing process need not be stopped for manual replacement of a filament.
3D printers have become common for building structures one layer at a time by laying down very thin layers of resin according to a computer-generated design. Such rapid prototyping equipment allows for making tools and even full machines in environments where traditional manufacturing equipment is not available, such as in outer space, medical facilities, or the like. In addition, there are now many different types and formulations of material used for 3D printing, each having unique properties and characteristics. Some product designs require multiple types of material or perhaps just different colors before a completed product is finished. In the past, a 3D printer had to be suspended or interrupted until a filament having a first material was swapped out and replaced with another filament and the process restarted.
Various devices and methods have been implemented or proposed in the art for using more than a single filament of material to complete a 3D printer run. Although presumably effective for their intended purposes, the existing attempts at providing multiple filaments to complete a job suffer from various disadvantages. For instance, machines having a pair of filament cartridges which may be alternated result in overly heavy print heads on which the cartridges are mounted. Adding more alternative filament choices to a single 3D printer only exacerbates the problem of weight, sluggishness, and maintenance. Multiple nozzles associated with a print head may also result in alignment problems, a reduced print area, and complex electronics or software.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have retrieval and docking assembly in which multiple filaments share a common print head and which may be selectively retrieved singly for use by the print head and then docked to an associated docking station, another filament holder retrieved, and so on. Further, it would be desirable to have a retrieval and docking assembly that provides multiple docking stations so that respective filament holders may be retrieved therefrom or docked thereto, respectively, quickly and without adding mass to the print head itself. In addition, it would be desirable to have retrieval and docking assembly having a rotating deployment latch for causing the capture and retrieval of a filament holder and a rotating release lever for causing a release and docking of a previously retrieved filament holder. It is understood that the retrieval and docking assembly will be described according to an exemplary embodiment in the context of a 3D printer assembly.